


Oh, Brother

by emmyjade



Category: Deception (TV 2018)
Genre: Gen, Hurt Cameron, Hurt/Comfort, I'll add more as I go, Mentions of violence/abuse, Set after 1x08, cameron and jonathans non-cannon past makes an appearance, cameron black is a self sacrificial butthead, protective jonathan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-04-30 16:09:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14500698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmyjade/pseuds/emmyjade
Summary: When Jonathan's life is threatened, Cameron turns to the only person he knows with the ability to do anything to help.Unfortunately, that help comes at a heavy price and Cameron is all too ready to pay it if it means his brother is safe.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am not a writer. The last time I wrote anything was high school and that was a really long time ago so this is probably very bad. But, the lack of Deception content online was driving me nuts so here we are.  
> Feedback is very important to me so please let me know what you think!  
> Took the title from Oh, Brother by Cyrus Reynolds.

“Cameron Black, to what do I owe the pleasure?”  
A man with long, thin arms and bony fingers reached to shake Cameron’s hand. Hesitantly, Cameron took a step forward to take the man’s hand in his, a shiver running through him with the contact. It had been years since he had even thought about Ronald Wick, who was staring at him with cruel intent.  
“I need your help,” Cameron replied, wanting so badly to be anywhere else. Unfortunately for him, the man was the only person who could help Jonathan.  
“Oh, and what exactly is it that you think I can do for you?” Cameron took a deep breath knowing that if he asked for help there was no going back.  
“There’s a thumb drive I need to you to retrieve for me.”  
Ronald tilted his head to the side at these words, surprised that Cameron Black would be asking for his assistance after what had happened in the past between them.  
“And you remember the conditions? The same as last time, if I do this for you, you must do something for me, no questions?”  
Cameron flinched at these words, painful memories flashing through his mind. If he agreed there was no going back, and he knew that this would end badly. But, Cameron would do anything to protect Jonathan. His brother was the most important person in his life and he would gladly protect him with it.  
“Yes, I do” and with that, his fate was sealed.

* * *

* * *

**18 hours earlier**  
After the time spent with the mystery woman, all Cameron could think about was the video that could prove his brother's innocence and how close he had come to having it in his possession. He was sitting alone in a café letting his thoughts spiral into dangerous territory when someone dropped a large envelope in front of him, quickly disappearing before he had even realised what happened.  
Eyeing the envelope suspiciously, he slowly picked it up and opened it. Inside was a disposable phone and a number of photos that made his heart drop. The photos were from a CCTV camera inside the prison, most just showed Jonathan in his cell or cafeteria, but the ones that truly terrified Cameron showed Jonathan being abused by other inmates or even by some of the guards. Cameron knew that Jonathan was having a hard time but he never suspected it to be this bad.  
Out of nowhere, the phone started to ring, snapping him out of his thoughts. Cameron answered almost immediately.  
“Who is this?” he demanded.  
“Hello, Cameron,” an unfamiliar, female voice spoke. “Have I gotten your attention?”  
“Who is this?” Cameron asked again, just as demanding as the first time.  
“A friend,” the voice replied. “Now, we have much to discuss concerning your brother. As you can most likely see from the photos in front of you, he is making many friends during his stay. I have intel that one of his new friends is planning something not very nice for your brother and while I can’t do anything to help him, I figured that now you have certain connections, perhaps you could.”  
“Why are you helping us?” Cameron questioned the voice. “Who are you?”  
“Like I said, I am a friend. Now if I were you I’d be focusing on helping your brother before it is too late.”  
The phone went dead and Cameron was left feeling like he was just punched in the gut. His breathing came fast and shallow, his mind racing. Who wanted to hurt his brother and what exactly did they have planned? Cameron grabbed his phone and hit the speed dial for Kay before he reached the point where he couldn’t calm himself down. He knew he needed to act fast to save Jonathon.

* * *

Sitting across from Agent Deakins in her office with Kay and Mike by his side, Cameron recapped the conversation he had with the unknown woman. Deakins was looking through the photos while he spoke.  
“We need to protect him.” Cameron finished talking, now waiting for a response. He sat fidgeting with his hands while Deakins continued to look at the photos.  
“I agree but I don’t think that there is much we can do,” Deakins finally spoke, looking up to meet Cameron’s eyes. “We can’t take him out of the prison without first proving him innocent. I can speak to his guards but from what I can see of these photos, they probably won’t be much help. Our options in this are very limited, with this little information and no proof that this threat is real.”  
“But we have to do something!” Cameron stood, leaning over the desk between them.  
“I’m sorry Cameron, but unless you can find concrete proof of this threat then there isn’t much we can do.” Agent Deakins looked sympathetically at Cameron before he angrily left her office.  
“Cameron,” Kay called after him, quickly following him out. “Cam, wait!”  
Cameron ignored her as he stepped into the elevator, closing the doors before she had a chance to catch up to him. He wasn’t in the mood to be consoled by her, not now. He needed to find a way to help his brother. Deakins had said he needed proof of the threat, but she also mentioned that with proof of his innocence they could get him out of the prison, removing him from the threat altogether. He knew exactly where to find proof of Jonathan's innocence, the video the mystery woman kept of the night Jonathan was framed. 

* * *

Being in showbusiness growing up, Cameron and Jonathan met some interesting people. They met performers, set designers, managers, and they met Ronald Wick. Ronald Wick was a man of many talents, he could get anything done for anyone, but he always required something in return, and that something was never anything good. When Cameron was a teenager he asked for his help, an action that he still regrets to this day. In return, he was forced to do something he never wanted to remember.  
Cameron was afraid of Ronald Wick, but he also knew that the man was the only chance he had of helping Jonathan. If he couldn’t prove there was a threat without the help of the unknown caller, then he would have to prove that his brother was innocent once and for all and get him as far away from any threat as possible.  
So that’s what lead him to make a deal with the devil. Ronald would retrieve the video and Jonathan would be safe and Cameron would not think about what he had gotten himself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, this chapter is very short but if there is any interest in it I promise any future ones will be longer.  
> Again, feedback is important to me! Let me know what you think, even if you hate it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the people in this fandom are honestly the nicest people ever! I can't believe the support I've gotten on the first chapter. This will probably be updated often because I'm really enjoying myself (I have so many ideas for this story that it might go on forever).

Jonathan Black’s life had changed so much in the past year and a half that at times he barely recognised himself. He used to be cheerful, always able to come up with a witty reply to one of his brother’s stupid comments. Now he was a shell of the man he used to be. Always hiding, on high alert, watching for threats that could come from anywhere. Once it got out that he had a certain skill set that could be useful to people looking to make an escape, he became a target. Daily threats and beatings came his way but he never agreed to help anyone, he knew he needed to stay in the good books if he were to ever get out of this hell hole.  
Not long after the news got out, his guards became aware. They let him know exactly what they thought of him and made sure he was always being watched, even when he was alone in his cell. Which is where he was when he got word that his brother was on his way with some very urgent news.

“Cam, what is it?” he asked the second Cameron entered the conference room.  
“I did it,” Cameron replied, bending over and out of breath as if he had run all the way here. “It’s over, I did it.”  
“Did what? I don’t understand.” Jonathan took a step towards his brother before Cameron threw himself in his arms. Jonathan stiffened at the embrace, waiting for the guards to come and separate them, but they didn’t.  
“You’re free.”

* * *

“I still don’t understand how you got your hands on that video,” Jonathan was sitting in his favourite chair back in the archive, surrounded by his favourite people. “How did you find the mystery woman, and more importantly how did you manage to get the drive away from her?”  
“A magician never reveals his secrets, Johnny, you should know that,” Cameron winked at his brother before sitting next to him, wanting to be as close as possible in case this was all a dream. Jonathan gave him a side-eyed suspicious glance before letting it go, he knew his brother was hiding something but he’d get it out of him later when they were alone.  
“You must be starving after all that time eating prison food,” Dino stood up holding her hand out to Jonathan. “How about we all go get something to eat?”  
Jonathan took her hand and let her lead him out, followed closely by Cameron, Jordan, and Gunter. In that moment he was overcome with love for his family and he vowed that he would never lose them again.

* * *

Laughter filled the table as the small family ate at a nearby Chinese restaurant. Cameron had invited Kay and Mike along so that his brother could get to know them better. He felt that the short time they had spent together during Cameron’s mystery woman experience wasn’t enough for them to get to know each other, especially due to Jonathan’s mostly bleak mood the entire time. He wanted to make sure they knew the real Jonathan, not prison Jonathan. Stories of the twins childhood were the main topic of the conversation with Dina making sure that they especially focused on the most embarrassing ones.  
Cameron sat close to his brother all night, not wanting to leave his other half after finally getting him back. His heart was full of happiness but there was still that sense of dread, of knowing what was coming. He wouldn’t take back what he did, having Jonathan home was worth it, but he wasn’t looking forward to the consequences.  
By the end of the meal Jonathan was feeling warm, his stomach was full and he was surrounded by all the people he loved. The muscles in his face protested the amount of laughing he had been doing after the year and a half of not even smiling. As Cameron had gone to look for someone to put the leftovers into doggy bags, Kay took the opportunity to talk to Jonathan one on one.  
“Cameron really seems to be much happier with you here. He was before, of course, but you can tell that now his happiness is genuine. He really missed you.” She watched Cameron as he talked to the waitress, somehow asking to take home leftovers had turned into a magic show, something only Cameron Black could manage to do. Turning to face Jonathan, she could see him also watching his brother, a smile plastered across his face.  
“We were always really close growing up, we looked out for each other. This last year and a half has been hard on both of us.” He laughed when he saw his brother break out his deck of cards that he always had on his person. A small group was starting to form around him now. “He always was good with people,” he sighed.  
“I was curious about how you guys got your hands on the thumb drive,” Jonathan straightened before turning to face Kay, deciding to find out more about Cameron’s earlier avoidance of the topic. “The last I heard it was on a necklace around mystery woman’s neck.”  
“Honestly, I don’t know how Cameron did it. He just turned up this morning with it, demanding we get you out of prison immediately,” Kay shrugged. “You’d have to ask the master of deception yourself.”  
This news didn’t make Jonathan feel any better. His brother was good, but he wasn’t good enough to find the mystery woman and steal the thumb drive. He was hiding something, and Jonathan knew it was something bad.

* * *

“Cam, we need to talk.” Jonathan cornered his brother back at the archive after everyone had gone home and they were alone.  
“What’s up, Johnny?” Cameron casually asked while throwing himself down into a lounge chair and putting his feet up.  
“I need you to tell me how you got the thumb drive.” Cameron froze.  
“I told you, a magician never reveals his secrets,” he replied nervously, getting up to leave, knowing this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have right now. “Don’t worry about it, Johnny. Everything is fine. You’re home and you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”  
“Cameron,” Jonathan said harshly, using his brother's full name so that he would know he was serious. “Do not hide things from me.”  
Cameron sighed and turned around to look at his brother. “It’s better you don’t know, Johnny.”  
Jonathan started to protest but Cameron had already left, leaving him wondering exactly what his brother had gotten himself into.

* * *

Cameron was getting ready for bed when he received a phone call. The name Wick flashing across the screen. Dread filled him as he answered with shaking hands.  
“I’m calling in the favour.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was considering sticking to the short chapters instead of making them longer? That way I can update often. What do you guys think? I can absolutely make them longer if that's what you'd prefer but it'd take longer between chapters.  
> Again, feedback is very important to me! Also, I love and appreciate your comments so much, let me know what you think is going to happen next!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I disappeared for a hot minute there! So, I have this entire story planned out but I suck at writing so bear with me, I may take a while. I haven't read over this chapter either so sorry in advance. I might come back and edit mistakes and whatnot later.  
> Again, this fandom is amazing, you guys are honestly the nicest people ever and I hope you enjoy this (even if it's bad, sorry) :))

**12 years earlier**

Cameron was sitting backstage, his arm sitting at an odd angle. He had fallen and landed wrong during one of the stunts onstage and Sebastian was not happy with him, quickly ushering him offstage before anyone in the audience could see anything was wrong.  
  
“Right, Johnny, you’re up,” he hid Cameron in a dark corner backstage and grabbed hold of his brother’s shoulder, dragging him back to finish the trick. The show must always go on, is what he always said.  
  
Cameron hid, holding his arm against his body, trying not to cry, while Jonathan finished the show in his place. He knew that once the show was finished, he would be taken to the emergency room and he would feel better, but he felt horrible. Listening to his brother's voice come through the speakers, he stayed hidden.

* * *

The part Cameron hated most about going to the hospital is that Jonathan couldn’t come with him. It was times like these that he really wanted his brother there to hold his hand and tell him that everything was okay. The doctor was doing a terrible job at trying to distract him as they prepared to set his dislocated shoulder back into place. Cameron knew what was coming, he had experienced it many times before but he still closed his eyes tightly and turned his head away, holding his breath as the doctor pulled and twisted.  
  
“He’s going to need to keep that arm in a sling for at least a week to make sure it heals properly,” the doctor told Sebastian as he tied a knot behind Cameron’s shoulder. “He should be mostly back to normal in two weeks but no heavy lifting or sports for at least six, okay?”  
  
Cameron could see the anger grow in his father’s eyes with every word the doctor said. This was not good news.

* * *

Jonathan was at rehearsals, preparing to replace Cameron in the show, and he was not enjoying it one bit. He always liked being away from the audience, he wasn’t good with the crowds. Ever since he could remember just the thought of being the centre of attention made him feel ill. He was so thankful that Cameron loved being in front of people so he didn’t have to, but now here he was, preparing to stand in front of a sold-out audience.  
  
Part of the show involved getting out of handcuffs, which he could do in his sleep, but today he was fumbling and his hands were sweating so much he was finding it difficult to hold onto the pick. Sebastian was not impressed at all and made sure Jonathan knew it.  
  
By the end of rehearsals, he felt awful. He still couldn’t calm himself down to perform any of the tricks well and that was made worse by the constant lectures he was getting from his father. All he wanted to do was see his brother.

* * *

“Johnny,” Cameron greeted his brother without moving his gaze from the television in front of him. “How were rehearsals?”  
  
Jonathan only groaned loudly and threw himself down on the couch beside Cameron, he wasn’t up to talking about it.  
  
“That bad, huh?” Cameron moved closer to his brother, comforting him with the contact. Jonathan wasn’t one for talking about his feelings, especially when it came to their father and the show. So, Cameron just sat with him, arm touching his, as they both sat and watched the television.

* * *

“What if we threatened to expose us?” Cameron suggested to his brother. The topic of trying to escape their father’s wrath came up often, especially after a bad day like today. “Then he’d have to let us leave, he wouldn’t risk ruining his reputation.”  
  
“That would work but you know I can’t do that, Cam” Jonathan sat head down, fiddling with a loose thread from his jumper.  
  
“I know, I know,” Cameron sighed. He knew his brother wouldn’t cope with the attention, there was a reason Cameron was the one who stood in front of the audience every night. “There has to be some way to convince him though.”

* * *

By the time Cameron’s shoulder healed, Jonathan was close to his breaking point. The shows were going well but he was constantly on edge, feeling like he was always being watched. He wasn’t used to the attention and he really did not like it. He was supposed to stay behind the scenes, out of the spotlight.  
  
Sebastian didn’t stop giving him a tough time over the entire two and a half weeks it took for Cameron to heal. He was constantly being told that he wasn’t engaging with the audience enough, that he wasn’t making eye contact enough, that he wasn’t speaking loud enough. He tried his best to do what his father was telling him but every time he tried he felt a tightness taking hold of his chest, so he spent most of the shows looking at the wall at the back of the room and only saying the bare minimum. The crowd noticed something was different too, which Sebastian wasn’t happy about. The local paper posted a bad review and attendance had fallen dramatically.  
  
But it all went back to normal when Cameron returned. The audience cheered at the end and suddenly there was more interest in the show again.  
  
“See boy, that’s how you put on a show!” Sebastian told him after one of the shows. “I thought we’d have to cancel with you out there doing shows. Pathetic, it was.”  
  
Jonathan just let his father talk, knowing from experience that it was always best to stay quiet in these situations. Speaking up just made Sebastian angry and Jonathan really didn’t want that.

* * *

As Cameron came offstage after the show he could see that his brother was getting another lecture from their dad, most likely about how shy he was. He could see the glassiness behind his Jonathan’s eyes as he ignored everything Sebastian said to him, he’d heard it all a million times before. Anger sat in the pit of Cameron’s stomach and he decided that he had to get Jonathan away from their father, no matter what it took.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the past month certainly went by fast! My bad! Good news is, I'm officially on break from uni and suddenly got a hell of a lot of free time (yay) :)
> 
> Also, I've chosen to actively ignore the final few minutes of the final. Mystery Woman is in jail, Jonathan is free and the twins are super happy living together as one big happy family, okay? Okay.

For the first seven months, Jonathan spent in prison he would wake up and not remember where he was. But as he became aware of the hard mattress beneath him and the damp smell coming from the walls, reality would come crashing down on him. Hard. By the eighth month, he would wake up knowing exactly where he was and that he was never going to get out of hell. When Jonathan woke up the morning after he was released he woke up fully expecting to be back in his cell, that he had simply dreamed everything. 

He stayed in bed for an hour after he woke up, just watching as the first rays of sunlight started to stream in through the gap between the curtains. He didn’t realise how much he missed seeing sunlight in the morning. When he started to get up his muscles felt relaxed after being supported and cushioned all night, instead of cramped and sore, and he made his way into the bathroom for a warm and private shower. Freshly cleaned towels were another thing that he missed during his time in prison, they always seemed to be damp and slightly dirty when he used them and he tried not to think why that might be.

The smell of breakfast cooking made him hurry his shower and had him almost running to the kitchen. Gunther was standing at the stove, bacon and eggs sizzling in the fry pan, humming to himself as he prepared Jonathan's favourite meal of the day.

“Something smells good,” Jonathan said as he sat down at the kitchen island, causing Gunther to jump slightly.

“I forgot what is was like having you around,” Gunther said without turning around. “You can always tell when your brother is near, that boy couldn’t be quiet to save his life. But you? You’re like a ghost, one second you’re not there, the next you are.”

Gunther got two plates out from the cupboard, plating up the bacon and eggs before handing Jonathan his own serving. “I missed you boy.”

“I missed you too, Gunth,” Jonathan grabbed a fork and dug in, loving every bite. The older man sat down beside him as they ate, both content in the silence, aware of each other beside them.

* * *

After breakfast, Jonathan decided to go and find his brother to apologise for being so harsh the previous night. He walked around to Cameron’s apartments and let himself in the front door, fully expecting him to still be in bed, he never was an early riser. He knocked on the bedroom door and waited for an answer. When he got none, he slowly opened the door and peeked inside.

“Cam?” he called into the empty room. The bed looked like it hadn’t been slept in, which was strange because Cameron had told him he was on his way home when he left last night. He tried calling his brother's cell phone to find out where he was but it went straight to voicemail. “Cam, call me back.”

Guessing that perhaps he had gotten distracted by a certain someone on his way home, Jonathan tried calling Kay instead. She picked up after the third ring.

“Agent Daniels,” she answered in a professional tone.

“Hi Kay, its Jonathan,” he said, guessing that his number wasn’t saved into her phone yet.

“Oh hey, Johnny,” she replied in a more relaxed tone. “What’s up?”

“I was just checking, is Cam was with you?” he asked.

“No, I haven’t seen him since last night,” Jonathan’s heart dropped slightly. “Why, is there something wrong?”

“Nothing wrong, I was just trying to figure out where he is,” he said, trying to cover the concern in his voice. “He’s probably with Dina or Jordan, I’ll try them next.”

“Okay. Well, call me if there’s a problem,” Kay said.

“Will do”.

Jonathan hung up the phone before trying Jordan, but he hadn’t heard from Cameron since last night either. As panic started to rise in his stomach he called Dina, hoping that she knew where he was. It wasn’t like his brother to go out without telling someone, especially now that Jonathan was back.

“I haven’t heard from him since last night, Johnny,” Dina said over the phone. “Sorry”.

Jonathan hung up the phone before he started to have a panic attack. Cameron hadn’t come home last night, no one knew where he was and his phone wasn’t turned on.  
He was pacing around Cameron’s apartment, breathing heavy and thinking of all the bad things that could have gone wrong when he heard a phone ringing. He looked at the phone in his hand, it wasn’t that.

He started looking through the apartment for the source of the sound, it was coming from Cameron’s bedroom. After a few minutes, he found it hidden away in a secret compartment of his nightstand. An old disposable flip phone was ringing, he opened it to UNKNOWN written across the display. He pressed the answer button and slowly brought it up to his ear.

“Hello?” he answered suspiciously.

“There’s no time to explain,” a female voice came through from the other end. “Your brother did something stupid to get you out and now he’s in trouble.”

“What?” Jonathan couldn’t breathe. “Who is this? What are you talking about?”

“Look, I’m an old friend of your brothers. I owed him a favour so I tipped him off about a plot to kill you and told him he had to get you out. I figured that he would use the FBI to do it, I gave him a starting point to find proof but he went a different route, a really stupid and different route to get you out and now he’s in trouble.”

“What kind of trouble? Who are you? Why did you owe him a favour? What is going on?” Jonathan had so many questions.

“There’s no time to explain but he made a deal with someone you’re very familiar with… He made a deal with Wick.”

Jonathan could swear he felt his heart stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at proofreading and editing so I'm sorry for any and all mistakes!


End file.
